Wil voters reject tax hike, keep municipal tax rate at 115 percent

Municipal Finances and the Deficit Challenge

Months of political debate preceded the vote over how to handle Wil city finances. The municipal council originally requested a tax rate of 121 percent for the 2026 budget to counteract mounting financial pressure. However, the city parliament opted for a compromise rate of 118 percent in December 2025. Two council referendums followed that decision, forcing a public vote on whether the tax rate should stay at 115 percent or jump to 121 percent. The parliament’s intermediate 118 percent option was not placed directly on the ballot, leaving voters to choose between the lower baseline or the steeper hike.

The ballot presented two distinct alternatives to the electorate. For the 115 percent option, 4,131 voters said yes and 2,631 said no. The 121 percent alternative failed drastically, drawing just 1,210 yes votes against 4,955 no votes, representing an 80.37 percent rejection rate. In a secondary tie-breaking question that ultimately wasn’t needed, 4,735 votes favored 115 percent while 1,755 favored 121 percent.

Locking the tax rate at 115 percent leaves a widening gap in the municipal budget. City officials project a deficit of 8.2 million Swiss francs for 2026 under the approved 115 percent rate. By comparison, the parliament’s rejected 118 percent proposal would have produced a deficit of roughly 6.3 million francs, whereas the council’s original 121 percent request would have yielded a 4.4 million franc shortfall.

Growing Pressure on Municipal Spending

Financial strain in Wil is not a new development. The city recorded a deficit of 6.3 million francs in 2024, followed by a 2.3 million franc deficit in 2025. Projections for the current year look even worse due to falling tax revenues and rising operating expenses, pushing the anticipated deficit for the current term to roughly 12 million francs alongside upcoming major infrastructure investments.

The municipal council stated that it accepts the voting outcome with profound regret, noting that it failed to convince the public of the financial necessity behind a tax increase. Despite the setback, the city council and parliament share a target to balance the municipal budget again by 2030. Officials report that more than 30 relief measures with a recurring annual savings impact of about three million francs have already been implemented, and additional cuts are planned to offset the revenue shortfall.

Managing ongoing municipal deficits without raising taxes forces local governments to evaluate structural cost-cutting, capital project prioritization, and operational efficiencies.